Container for papers, cards, and the like



May 30, 1939. w. B. GRISWOLD CONTAINER FOR PAPERS. CARDS, AND THE LIKEFiled June 24, 1957 w. d 1 R v V 0. W E T n m m w o T WBM T I Au 4 m eIR M H z Patented May 30, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFEQE CONTAINER FORPAPERS, CARDS, AND THE LIKE tion of Delaware Application June 24, 1937,Serial No. 150,070

14 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in containers forpapers, cards and the like, and more particularly to a tray, drawer orfile for such work pieces.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to enable a user toquickly refer to the particular card or work piece from among the numbercontained in the file, without necessitating removal of the card fromthe file.

Other objects supplementing the foregoing are the provision of askeleton file holder which enables the user to quickly fan out and thumbor leaf through the contents; and the provision of novel means toreleasably clamp the sheaf of papers, cards or other work pieces inplace in the file in such manner as to leave the indexed portions orends of the individual pieces free for quick and rapid inspection.

A further object co-acting with the latter of the two preceding objectsis the provision of a locking file or container for work pieces, whichnormally holds the work pieces against removal either singly or ingroups, but which permits ready manipulation to release the containedwork pieces when it is desired to insert additional work pieces, orremove any of the contents.

Still another object is the provision of a combined clamping andfollower means of novel design, which will not flex the free ends of thework pieces forwardly, and is readily shifted to confine or to releasethe contents of the tray or file.

These and other objects and advantages will be more fully explainedhereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims. A

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodimen of the invention,illustrating its use with a pack or sheaf of cards;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; looking in thedirection of the arrows, and showing the relative positions of thecombined clamp and follower; and the abbreviated front end wall, orfront stop;

Fig. 3 is a view from the left side, showing the interior of thecontainer, and partly broken away toshow the latching means which holdsthe work piece locking means effective;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail view of the follower slide; and

Fig. 5 is a view in reduced size of a card suitably notched toaccommodate the locking means with which the container is provided.

As one of the objects of this invention is to pro- I vide a tray, dawer, or container for work pieces,

so arranged that the work pieces, while held firmly in a compact packagainst removal, are, nevertheless, easily inspected with all therapidity of which the user is capable, there has been contrived askeleton holder, including a base or bot tom l0, preferably a fiatrectangular plate of any suitable material, as metal, one edge of whichmay be fianged or upturned, as at l l, to form the only substantial sidewall of the container which, in the selected illustration, is the righthand wall.

A short or abbreviated wall 12 is secured in the angle between the basel and flange H and at the front edges thereof, to form the front stopagainst which the work pieces are pressed.

The front stop extends partway only from the right hand wall I I towardsthe free and unencumbered left hand edge of the base, and may be of anysuitable material. In the present instance, the front stop is of woodsecured along its adjacent edges by screws l3 or other fastenings to theright hand wall and to the base.

The side wall H, which conveniently extends the full length of the baseI0, is longitudinally slotted intermediate its upper and lower edges, asat M. and a guide rail extends parallel with and throughout the lengthof the slot, the opposite ends of the rail projecting past the ends ofthe slot and being secured to spacing blocks !6 mounted on the outerface of the side wall H beyond the ends of the slot, but preferably, inline with the longitudinal axis of the slot.

A chambered clamping slide !1 having a substantially U-shaped body toembrace the rail I5 is slidably mounted for longitudinal adjustmentalong the rail, the inner free ends of the upper and lower side walls ofthe slide having inturned shoes 18 taking over the longitudinal edges ofthe rail to maintain the connection between the slide and rail. An arm I9, which may be forked, as shown, though this is not essential, has itsfree ends secured to the respective side walls of the slide, and extendsthrough the slot M to a point approximately in line with the center ofthe short front stop l2. Preferably, though not necessarily, the arm I9irrespective of its form, is somewhat resilient.

At its inner end, the arm is provided with an eye 20 to loosely encirclethe neck of a headed stud 2|, the opposite end of which stud carries afollower 22, which, as shown, may consist of a flat round disk.

The work pieces 23 of oblong form, are inserted between the inner faceof the front stop l2 and the inner face of the follower 22 with one ofthe longer sides of each work piece resting on the base I0, after which,the slide ll is manually advanced along the rail l5, with its arm 19 andfollower 22, towards the front wall [2, until the follower as itadvances, clamps the pack of work pieces between itself and the rearface of the front Wall, with sufiicient force to hold the Work piecesfrictionally in position.

If the arm 19 is resilient, the slide I! may be advanced slightly aheadof the follower, after the latter has been arrested by the resistance ofthe pack of work pieces to further compression, so as to apply springpressure to the follower to hold the work pieces in position in the trayor file.

Also the loose connection provided by the eye 20 and stud 21, betweenthe arm and follower, enables the follower to automatically conform tothe plane of the rear face of the pack of work pieces, the enlarged headof the stud preventing disconnection of the arm l9 and follower 22, andthe eye encircling the neck of the stud, affording a limited universalmovement to the follower relatively to its arm, as well as enabling theeye to fit closely against the rear face of the follower, to hold thelatter up to the work.

It is necessary to maintain the slide H in any of the positions to whichit may be adjusted when clamping the sheaf of work pieces between thefollower and the front stop, to which end, the side walls of the slideembrace a double dog 24, (Fig. 4), lying parallel with, and toothed toengage complementary teeth 25 formed along the outer face of theslide-supporting rail l5. Thus, the holding dog 24 is loosely confinedbetween the body of the slide l1 and the rail IS, the toothed face ofthe dog having a countersunk hole formed therein to accommodate the headof a connecting fastening, as a screw 26, tapped into the inner reducedend of a quick-acting bolt 21 threaded through the body portion oftheslide l1 and bearing a flanged finger wheel 28 at its outer end. Thereduced inner end of the bolt is journaled in the correspondinglyreduced end of the hole in the dog 24. A spring 29 coiled about theprojecting end of the threaded bolt 21, with its opposite ends anchoredto the finger wheel 28 and to the slide I 1, respectively, turns thebolt in clockwise direction to hold the teeth of the dog engaged withthe teeth 25 of the rail I5, and thus prevent the resilience of acompacted sheaf or pack of work pieces from crowding the follower 22 andslide l1 backwardly after the follower has been adjusted to hold thesheaf or pack snugly pressed against the rear face of the front stop l2.

To release the dog 24, the operator simply turns the finger wheel 28 andbolt 21 counter-clockwise against the tension of the spring 29 towithdraw the dog from engagement with the teeth of the rail l, and bythe same action, shoves or pushes the wheel and with it the slide 11,arm l9 and follower 22, away from the sheaf of work pieces. Immediatelyupon relieving pressure on the finger wheel, the spring 29' snaps thebolt 21 around in clockwise direction, to reengage the teeth of the dog24' with the teeth 25 of the rail l5.

One of the many uses to which this invention may be put is as a holderor file for operation cards.

Such a file is kept by manufacturers and comprises a number of cards,each of which bears the manufacturers part number, as indicated at theupper left hand corner of the card shown in Fig. 5, beneath which islisted the various kinds of operations or steps performed on the part,to-

gether with other pertinent information regarding dimensions, grade ofmetal or what not, where necessary.

Thus, an operation card, after reciting the identifying number in theupper left hand corner, might list a series of operations, as follows:

Blank Pierce Shave Etc.

These operations are subject to change, as are the dimensions, shapes,gauge and kind of metal, or what not, because the part may be itselfimproved, or better and less expensive ways of machining the part, maybe developed.

The operation cards outline the standard procedure to be followed in theprocess of making the part, and the cost of such part is based on thematerial, labor, and time consumed in its production.

Hence the cards are often consulted, new cards added as the manufactureof additional parts is assumed, and other cards substituted for thoseoriginally filed, as shorter or less expensive methods of operation aredeveloped.

In view of the above, it is' desirable, first, to arrange the trays orcontainers for such cards in the best known manner to afford readyinspection thereof, to enable the operator to quickly and easily locatethe operation card relating to any particular part which is to be made.

This requirement is satisfied by the skeleton form of the container, thecards being clamped at their right hand ends between the front stop andthe follower plate, all unnecessary walls being omitted, including theusual front wall which has been cut down to the least possible sizeconsistent with the area of the work pieces to be filed in thecontainer, so as to expose a large area of each card, the exposed areabearing the identification and much of the information relating to thesubject so identified.

The user will hold the tray or container in his right hand, and thumb orrifii'e the exposed free ends of the cards with his left hand, bendingthe left hand ends in either direction to impose the desired resiliencein the group of cards, and letting the cards spring back one by one asthey escape past the thumb, scanning the identifying symbol on each carduntil he finds the one he wishes to consult.

The clamping of the right hand ends of the cards between the front stop,permits this rifiling or fanning action.

Obviously, if the tray or container is full of cards, or nearly so, theuser may leaf through them in successive group's, though the indexhereinafter referred to, will direct him to the section wherein islocated any particular card of whose identifying symbol he is aware.

By latching the follower where adjusted, the cards are frictionally heldagainst removal, and the riflling or fanning operation is facilitated.

Obviously, if the cards could be readily pulled out, a careless user,after locating the desired card, could and would remove it from the fileand carry it to his bench, desk or elsewhere, in which event, it mightnot be returned to its proper place in the file, and would certainly bemissing, if another, wishing to refer to the same card, should resort tothe file while the first user had the card on his desk.

To minimize the likelihood of occurrence of the above objection, thetray or container is equipped with means to lock properly formed cardsagainst accidentally dropping out and against intentional withdrawaleffected by simply pulling on the The rib 3|! may be of any convenientshape,

as semi-cylindrical, in cross section.

A key or looking rib 3|, which may be similar in cross sectional area tothe rib 3!], but inverted in position, carries a pair'of parallel,radially and laterally extending arms 32, (Fig. 2), connected,respectively, to the upper leaves of a pair of hinges 33, the lowerleaves of which are secured to the right side wall near the upper freeedge thereof, in spaced relation to correspond with the arms 32, and insuch manner that the floating locking rib or key 3| may swing over ontothe upper edges of the inner or right hand ends of the pack of cards 23.

As shown in Fig. 5, the inner or right hand upper and lower edges ofeach card are recessed, as at 34, to conform to the cross-sectionalareas of the upper and lower locking keys or ribs 33 and 3|, which ribsseat in the aligned recesses in the cards, and while such recesses areshown as lying in the same vertical plane, this is not essential, asthey may be out of line vertically, relatively to each other, providingthe locking ribs 30 and 3| occupy a corresponding relation.

This out-of-line relation would prevent the insertion of a card rearside foremost, or in faced position.

The forward end of the floating locking rib 3| projects beyond the frontend of the stationary rib 30, to extend over the upper edge of the frontstop I2 and seat in a recess 35, (Figs. 1 and 3), formed transverselyacross the upper edge of the stop.

The transverse recess 35 intersects or meets the upper end of avertically extending groove 36 formed in the outer face of the frontstop to accommodate a latching member 31, which, as shown, may be formedof a resilient metal tongue housed withinthe groove and fastened at itslower end to the front stop l2, its free upper end being hooked toengage over the flattened front end of the floating key 3|.

The latch 31 holds the floating rib 3| fitting in the upper recesses ofthe cards, in locking posi tion relatively thereto, and the floatingrib, when pressed downwardly, causes the notches in the lower edges ofthe cards to fit snugly over and maintain their locking engagement withthe stationary rib 30 on the base ll] of the tray or container.

With the parts in the positions described, the

cards 23 are locked against removal or displacement.

Whenever it is desired to remove an obsolete or incorrect card, andsubstitute another therefor, or to add additional cards to the file, itis only necessary to release the latch 3?, swing upwardly the floatinglocking rib 3|, and withdraw the follower 22 from its position whereinit com presses the pack of cards, after which the desired card or cardsmay be removed, by lifting upwardly to clear the stationary rib 30, andthen pulling them either upwardly or endwise to the left of the holder,and others substituted or added. e

To supply additional rigidity to the floating key 3|, as well as' toprotect the latter against injury, a brace plate 38 may extend betweenand be secured to the outer faces of the upper leaves of the respectivehinges 33, and the location of a particular card may be indicated byapplying an index 39 of the contents of the tray to the outer face ofthe brace plate, which index may be removably held in place by clips 40of well known form.

Use of the index renders unnecessary rifl'iing through the entire packof cards, the user being directed to the approximate location of theparticular group of cards which includes the special card to which hewishes to refer.

By housing the latches 31, the trays or containers may be piled on oneanother, and stored in pigeon holes, or cabinets without damage to, orrelease of the latches.

Changes may be made in the form and ar-. rangement of the several partsdescribed, and certain of the features may be omitted, without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention.

For example, in the illustrated embodiment; the upper edges of the cardsor work pieces 23, the front stop l2 and the side Wall all lie in thesame horizontal planes, but the front stop and side wall may be higherthan the height of the work pieces to protect the upper edges of thecards.

Or, in some instances, either or both locking keys 3!) and 3| togetherwith the hinges 33, brace plate 38 and latch 31 could be omitted.

Attention is directed to the fact that the base ll! of the holder isfree and unobstructed except for the one side wall H and the front stopl2, which, together with the base, form a triangular pocket for the workpieces.

The entire left side edge, the entire rear edge, and most of the frontedge of the base are unobstructed to enable free manipulation of thework pieces while still held firmly against accidental or intentionalremoval.

The holder may be used to contain folded papers documents or other flatmaterials, but in the case of folded papers and documents, the

locking keys would be omitted, preferably.

What is claimed as new, is:

1. A skeleton file, including a base to support the longer edge of apack of flexible work pieces; a wall substantially equal in height tothe widths of the work pieces, and with which one end of each work pieceis aligned; a short front stop stationarily mounted on the base toexpose the identifying data on the leading work piece; means to retainthe work pieces in a pack, each work piece being notched on its upperedge; means to releasably enter the notch in the upper edge of each workpiece to lock it against removal; andmeans to releasably hold theretaining means effective.

2. In a file or container, the combination of a base or support; a sidewall; a front stop a key stationarily mounted on the support; a floatingkey mounted on the side wall and shiftable to a position overhanging thebase or support; a work piece notched on its upper and lower edges toafford seats for the stationary and floating keys, respectively; means.coacting'with the front stop to hold a plurality of such work pieces ina pack on the support; and means to latch the floating key .in effectiveposition.

3. The combination with a file or holder, having a base, and a side wallat substantial right angles :thereto; of a work :piece notched at itsopposite edges; a stationary key mounted on and extending along the baseadjacent the side wall, the work piece being placed in the file with thenotchjin its lower edge fitting over the stationary key; a second keymounted on the side walland shiftable into and out of the notch in theupper edge of the work piece; and means operable upon the shiftable keytohold the latter in parallelism with the stationary key, and thus lockthe work piece against endwise disconnection from the keys.

4. In a file for containing work pieces notched on opposite edges; thecombination with a base and a. side wall; of a pair of parallel, rigidwork piece-retaining bars, one of which extends along the base inposition to be accommodated in the notch in one edge of the work piece,and the other of which is mounted on the side wall to shift into andoutof the notch in the opposite edge of the work piece while-maintainingparallelism with the remaining retaining bar at all times.

5. In a file for containing work pieces notched on opposite edges; thecombination with a base and a side wall; of a pair of parallel, rigidwork piece-retaining bars, one of which extends along the base inposition to be accommodated in the notch in one edge of the work piece,and the other of which is mounted on the side wall to shift into and outof the notch in the opposite edge of the work piece, one end of thelast-named retaining bar projecting beyond the corresponding end of theremaining retaining bar; and means releasably engaging the projectingend to latch the shiftable retaining bar in effective position, andthereby retain the pack of work pieces engaged with the remainingretaining bar.

6. In a file for containing work pieces notched on opposite edges; thecombination with a base and a side wall; of a pair of parallel, rigidwork piece-retaining bars, one of which extends along the base inposition to be accommodated in the notch in one edge of the work piece,and the other of which is mounted on the side wall to shift into and outof the notch in the opposite edge of the work piece; a front stop; andmeans to confine the pack of work pieces between itself and the frontstop.

7 In a file for containing work pieces notched on opposite edges; thecombination with a base and a side wall; of a pair of parallel, rigidwork piece-retaining bars, one of which extends along the base inposition to be accommodated in the notch in one edge of the work piece,and the other of which is mounted on the side wall to shift into and outof the notch in the opposite edge of the work piece, one end of thelast-named retaining bar projecting beyond the corresponding end of theremaining retaining bar; a front stop against which the pack of workpieces is pressed, the projecting end of the shiftable retaining barextending over the upper edge of the front stop; and a latching meanshoused in the front stop to engage the projecting end of the shiftableretaining bar, when the bar is in looking engagement with the workpieces, and thereby retain the work pieces engaged with the remainingretaining bar.

8. In a file for holding work pieces notched on opposite edges, thecombination with a base; and a front stop; of a side wall, the workpieces arranged on edge, and extending perpendicularly to the side wall;follower mechanism to confine the work pieces between itself and thefront stop; a retaining key extending along the base to be accommodatedin the notch in one edge of each work piece; a rigid retaining keymounted on the side wall to shift into and out of the notch in theopposite edge of each work piece; and means to releasably hold theshiftable retaining key in looking position.

'9. In a file for work pieces, the combination with a base; and a frontstop; of a slotted side wall, the'work pieces arranged on one edge, andextending perpendicularly to the side wall; a support on the side wall,arranged parallel with the slot; mechanism adjustable longitudinally ofthe slot to confine the work pieces between itself and the front stop,the mechanism including a slide on the support; means to lock the slidein any of its adjusted positions; a resilient arm mounted on the slide;and a follower mounted on the free end of the arm, in line with thefront stop.

10. In a file for work pieces, the combination with a base; and a frontstop; of a slotted side wall; a toothed rail extending longitudinally ofthe slot and mounted on the outer face of the side wall; .a slideadjustable along the rail; a follower supported by the slide to confinethe work pieces between itself and the front stop; a toothed dog carriedby the slide to co-act with the teeth of the rail; and a rotatable boltthreaded in the slide and to which the dog is connected, for shiftingthe dog into and out of effective relation with the teeth on the rail.

11. A card or document file, including a base to support the work pieceson the longer of their edges; a side wall extending along one edge ofthe base and of a height substantially equal to the width of the workpieces; a stationary, abbreviated front wall extending a short distancealong an adjacent edge of the base and arranged at right angles to theside wall, so that the data applied to the left hand face of theforemost work piece is exposed; and a follower projecting from andsupported by the side wall, to oppose the abbreviated front wall, thework pieces being clamped between the front wall and follower.

12. In a file for work pieces, the combination with a base; and a frontstop; of a longitudinally slotted side wall; and a follower supported bythe side wall and including a clip slidable along the slot; an armprojecting from the clip into line with and opposed to the front stop;and a plate loosely mounted on the free end of the arm to co-act withthe front stop in clamping the work pieces therebetween.

13. In a file for work pieces, the combination with a base; and a frontstop; of a longitudinally slotted side wall; and a follower supported bythe side wall and including a clip slidable along the slot; a resilientarm projecting from the clip into line with and opposed to the frontstop; and a plate loosely mounted on the free end of the arm to co-actwith the front stop in clamping the work pieces therebetween.

14. In a paper file adapted to hold work pieces of widths or lengthsgreater than their heights, the combination with a base of a widthsubstantially corresponding to the widths or lengths of the work pieces;a single upstanding side wall mounted adjacent and extending along oneside edge of the base with which it is substantially co-extensive, toenable one end edge of each work piece to be aligned therewith, thelonger bottom edge of the work piece resting on the base; a front wallstationarily arranged along the front edge of the base, at right anglesto the side wall,

and of materially less length than the length of the front edge of thebase, and the widths or lengths of the work pieces; and a followeropposed to the front wall and slidable along the Side wall, to co-actwith the front wall in holding the work pieces clamped in place in thefile, whereby the free ends of the work pieces opposite from the endsaligned with the side wall are unconfined for a portion of their lengthsand protrude beyond the free ends of the front wall and the follower, toenable the work pieces to be fanned out.

ANNE W. GRISWOLD, Emecutrix of the Estate of William B. Griswold,

Deceased.

